Wednesday, 18 November 2009

Hello all - another week and another warband done. That painting rack is a great help as I can always grap it and paint for half an hour or any amount of time available in between crying children and making food etc.This time its a Saxon Fyrd from Magister Militium, I believe - another ebay'ed unit so not entirely sure. If anyone knows the precise type I would greatly appreciate any information about it. The green/white colourscheme is the same as for the rest of the more unruly elements of my armies, and the unit should be useable as both a carthagenian, celtic or viking warband.

I really like how the standard bearer looks like a huge fellow - the command stand might be from a different pack as they seem a bit more viking-like.

The miniatures themselves were okay - not great and not crap. A bit too many of the same type but that does help them look more like a "unit". I used a dark blue for the trousers this time, which seems better than another white as I did for the last unit.

Update: Thanks to a kind reader named Gareth (thanks!) most of these have been identified as Magister Militium Sarmatian Medium Infantry (SRM4) with a few Viking command figures (a weird mix, but hey, its 10mm!).

Well I must admit to not being happy with the way my minis look in the photos I take of them. The camera is not the best and the same goes for the lighting source. Both are issues that I at the moment cannot do anything about.What I can do something about is to try and present them better and for which I've made the following base:

The idea is that the empty space at the front will be where the finished units stand when photographed. The hills and trees will provide a suitable background which will be combined with a background as seen below.

This should both present the units much better than a boring white background and should also allow me to save some time editing out the background and / or fiddling with the sizes.

The trees were ebayed and are apprently some of Games Workshops, they are very nice, and the trunks are much better detailed than any of my other trees which was why I choose them for this base. The base is made from light wood and a generous helping of "wall-filling".The bakground used here was from Times (a piece on the Governator) and could be alright, although it is a bit "glossy" - might need a more mat finish.

When not in use as a photostudio, the piece will be used as terrain as it fits into my regular "terrain bases". I might make a special terrain piece for the unit space - maybe a ruined building or something like that.

The finished piece should be up in two weeks (going to a convention in Louisiana, US during the next week).

Hello all!I managed to get a few more minis painted - another part of the more "undisciplined" part of my army. They are to be used as everything from Warband-type celts, vikings etc to skirmishing light infantry. The green/white colourscheme is to tie them in with the rest of the "wild" bunch army elements.

I'm not sure what type and brand these are as they were bought on Ebay but I believe ther Kallistra's Romano British Spearmen - definately not their best models but still a pleasure to paint.

Not sure about the red/green combination - it looks alright from afar and the shields are fine but the banner needs a little something, and they could have used a different colour for their trousers - oh well, maybe next time :-).

Thursday, 5 November 2009

Hello all - well in a moment's weekness I decided that free minis does not increase my feeling of guilt when looking at the piles of unpainted models. A company that I was unfamiliar with (15mm) where offering a free bag of their new Orc Command pack and all I had to do was pay for the shipping.So I now own my first 15mm models and although they are fine and all that I must say that it proves that 15mm just isnt for me. It seems they have the detail of the new 10mm but are more expensive while loosing that "Grand Sclae" feeling that I like about 10mm.The pack itself consists of 16 models that are well sculpted and full of character - would make great "disciplined" Ogres for those still trapped in Warmaster Ancients.I guess I might get around to painting them at some time but until then they will be far down the que.

The company's own pictures show all the detail well- I especially like the old wizard orc while the boar mounted leader (a two part model)reminds me of some of the early GW orcs.

The unpainted lot, which is the way they will stay for a long time (probably) :-).

I also took the oppurtunity to purchase some of the company's bases which seemed a great deal at 12 for 1£ and I am very satisfied with them - they are ultra thin, maybe a single mm each and seem sturdy enough. Only thing is that they seem to display an uneven length where some are a tiny bit longer than others - wont be a problem once the banners are flying but I wonder why they would be cut unevenly. Anyways, still a great price.

Monday, 2 November 2009

Hello all - I finally got some free time to paint a new unit - wuhuu :-).
I'm not entirely sure what kind of models these are as they are part of an email-purchase a month back but I believe the maker is Magister Militium (Apparently they are Pendraken - late Romans) and they seem to belong somewhere between first and fifth century CE. I chose to paint them fairly generic so they can stand in for as many roles as possible in as many armies as possible. To my eyes they look like late roman auxiliaries and I tried to paint them to emphasize this aspect.

The shields was a new endeavour for me - they are transfers from Little Big Men Studios. I must admit I think they look perfect although they could be a bit brighter which would improve their visibility from afar. The procedure was a pain - at first. But after a few tries (and two crumpled transfers) I got the hang of it and although a lenghty procedure (took more than an hour for 20) it was a lot easier than painting anything remotely similar to the detailed pattern of the transfers. I recommend trying the transfers, if you have either Magister Militium or Pendraken units of the appropriate period.
Unfortunately there are only 24 of each transfer on a sheet, so due to the mishaps and having thirty models in a unit I'll have to order a new set soon so I can finish the last rank of models.

For their dragon banner I tried to stay "roman" while also playing a bit on their green celtian ties, which should make them fit into both armies.

Hope you enjoyed them and if you know the make and type I would appreciate the information!